As mixed martial arts continues to grow, the sport is in a steady period of transition with its athletes. Gone are the superstars that aided in MMA’s boom period, including Fedor Emelianenko, Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture. While father time has caught up to some fighters, others have left the sport because they knew that winning a championship simply was unattainable. Looking ahead this year, here’s a list of fighters who are on “The Hot Seat” as their fight for relevancy in their respective divisions is at stake.
Urijah Faber
No doubt 2013 was a generous to “The California Kid.” Four straight wins, three highlight reel finishes and (as of last week) a title shot against Renan Barao this February at UFC 169. So why is the Team Alpha Male member on this list? It’s because the 34-year-old absolutely needs to win this championship rematch.
With Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre sidelined at the start of 2014, the search for superstars in UFC is at an all time high. In addition, the UFC has often struggled selling fans on fighters from the lighter weight classes and what would be better than an attractive, charismatic, American-born champion? If Faber loses, then he falls into the “Kenny Florian” category of having several failed bids for championship gold in two different weight classes. He would be regulated to “Super Fights” as it’s highly unlikely the UFC would give him a third fight with Barao.
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson
Viacom made a significant investment last year signing the former UFC light-heavyweight champion to both a contract with Bellator MMA and their pro wrestling promotion, Impact Wrestling. We saw the wrestling gig become short lived and many pundits believe the same will happen with Bellator. Despite knocking out Joey Beltran in his promotional debut at Bellator 108 back in November, critics still question Rampage’s relevance in the division. A loss to a fighter on the Bellator roster would not only shatter any championship aspirations for the 35-year-old, but it would prove crippling to Viacom’s investment.
Alistair Overeem / Frank Mir
With these two juggernauts facing off at UFC 169 it only made sense to pair them together. Last year was extremely disappointing to say the least for Overeem, as the former Strikeforce heavyweight champion was likely one round away from earning a UFC title shot. After winning the first two rounds against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva at UFC 156, the Dutchman’s lack of cardio caught up to him and he was knocked out in the third round. He would follow that up with a first round knockout loss to Travis Browne at UFC Fight Night 26.
The former K1 champion is very marketable and with an impressive win over Mir he could find himself right back in title contention. However a third loss inside the Octagon would undoubtedly cause his exit from the promotion.
Meanwhile the former UFC heavyweight champion Mir has lost three straight, including knockout losses to Junior dos Santos and Josh Barnett. A fourth straight loss would surely bring an end to his impressive 15-year employment with the UFC.
Ben Askren
Politics and fighting style were the two biggest factors in UFC president Dana White’s decision not to sign Askren in 2013. With the former Bellator welterweight champion opting to sign a big contract overseas with ONE FC, no fighter will have more eyeballs on them outside of the UFC than the undefeated Olympian. No doubt ONE FC executives expect the Roufusport fighter to maintain his winning streak and hope to establish the 29-year-old as their biggest superstar. With the lack of depth in their welterweight division, a loss for Askren would kill any momentum he had during his tenure with Bellator. In addition, the he needs to emerge victorious impressively should he wish to find future employment with the UFC.
Gegard Mousasi
Unfortunately injuries have hindered this once highly touted MMA prospect. For years, hardcore fans have waited to see the athlete who was making highlight reel finishes on a 15-fight win streak that spanned from 2006 to 2009 inside the Octagon. For his next bout at UFC Fight Night 36, the former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champ made the intelligent decision to drop back down to 185 pounds, but faces a stiff test in former UFC 205-pound champ Lyoto Machida. The 28-year old has all the talent in the world, but unfortunately isn’t a household name to casual fans. Should he decisively defeat Machida in Brazil next month, he will immediately be propelled into conversation for who should fight next for the middleweight title. If he loses to Machida, it will put him that much further back in contention for a UFC title.
Other notable hot seat candidates include…
Gray Maynard - The former UFC lightweight title challenger lost two straight fights via first-round knockout last year. The question now isn’t if he’s a contender, but should the 34-year-old consider retirement? Can he prove his critics wrong?
Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal - The former Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion has the potential to be Bellator’s biggest star. But now with two failed championship bids, can a third time be a charm for the 33-year-old?
Jon Fitch - Once considered the top welterweight in the world outside of Georges St-Pierre, Fitch went 1-2 last year including his first submission loss in 11 years. Is the AKA member still relevant? And can he be a star for World Series of Fighting?
Dan Henderson - Hard to believe Henderson has lost three straight fights, including the first knockout loss of his career courtesy of Vitor Belfort. The biggest question for him in 2014 is what’s left for the 43-year-old?
Miesha Tate - A loser of three of her last four fights (granted two of those were to current champion Ronda Rousey). Can she capitalize on the popularity she achieved while coaching The Ultimate Fighter by winning her fights this year?
Agree or Disagree? Who are your picks for fighters on “The Hot Seat” in 2014. Leave your comments below or hit James up on Twitter @LynchonSports.